Funny how things work out. Four years ago, we interviewed Bryan Ehrlich. At the time Bryan was a senior at San Antonio Madison HS and was not getting much attention from LSC schools, despite leading Madison to the state semifinals. He signed with Newberry College, in the South Atlantic Conference. He red-shirted in 2008, played sparingly in 2009 and started 15 games over the past two seasons. While at Newberry, Bryan threw for 3,172 yards with 33 TDs and 23 Ints. His best game came in 2010 against Tusculum. In that game he threw for 515 yards, and tossed 7 TD passes, leading Newberry to a 63-56 win over #23 Tusculum in a non-overtime game. He was named the d2football.com player of the week for his efforts.Bryan excelled in the classroom as well, graduating in 3 1/2 years, twice being named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, and winner of the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Acheivement Award.
Q - Bryan, it seems like we just yesterday when we first talked to you, but it was four years ago (link to Q&A) . What's been going on since then?
Well I’ve been off in South Carolina earning a degree while playing football at Newberry. Not much has changed about me except for my size.
Q - There was no recruiting this time around. You have your degree and still have a year of eligibility remaining. Why did you decide to transfer and how did you decide on Texas A&M-Kingsville?
There were several schools in the mix, but it came down to two very simple things. First I want to compete for a National Title, and secondly I wanted to find somewhere that would give me a legitimate shot at competing for the starting role. Coach Atterberry and his staff have done a great job a building a National Contender and I believe that I have the opportunity to do reach both of my goals at Kingsville.
Q - Where there any other schools that you were interested in?
There were two other schools that I sat down with. I met with Coach Coker at UTSA, and I had long talks with my ex-OC Coach Varn who is the current OC at (FCS) Presbyterian College in South Carolina.
Q - Having played against just one LSC team (Midwestern State) while you were at Newberry may make this question unreasonable, but what differences do you expect to see between the LSC teams and those from the SAC?
Everyone knows Texas is known for its football. The SAC is a great conference (Mars Hill, Carson-Newman, Tusculum, Catawba, etc.) with great athletes, but I expect there to be a much better Game day atmosphere in the LSC. There is so much pride for football in Texas, and I’m excited about being a part of Texas football again.
Q - What is your biggest in-game memory from your time at Newberry?
We played some great games at Newberry, but the memory that I will never forget was when we broke several school records against nationally ranked Tusculum. Our offense put up 63 points and our WR Brandon Bostick broke every SAC, and South Carolina College football record there was. Because of the great team effort both Brandon & I were fortunate enough to be named both SAC Co- Offensive Players of the Week & D2football.com Co-Offensive National Players of the Week.
Q - Academics are obviously important to you. What will you be getting your post-graduate degree in?
I will be pursuing an MBA while attending Kingsville. The Texas A&M affiliation was a definite benefit for me when I chose to attend Kingsville.
Q - Any advice for guys that will be going through the recruiting process in the next year or two?
Don’t ever give up on trying to play college sports. It is the experience of a lifetime, and if you work hard enough then good things will happen to you.
Q - Supposing you could do it all over again, what would do differently?
No I would do everything the same. There is no replacement for the relationships that I built while I was at Newberry. If you give us a Coach or two that left during my tenure there, then Newberry would have been in National contention every single year.
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